Sonic Chronicles: Steel Resolve
by Shawn Shady 72
Summary: After years of defeat at the hands of Sonic, Dr. Robotnik enlist the help of a skilled warrior to put an end to the blue menace. Will Sonic and his friends be able to rise to the challenge? There is only one way to find out.
1. Chapter 1

**Sonic Chronicles: Steel Resolve**

 _(All respective sonic characters are owned by SEGA and Ken Penders. OCs to appear in the story belong to me.)_

Chapter 1: Out of Options

"No... No... Tried that... that one too." Dr. Ivo Robotnik sits groggily in front of a massive screen, rapidly clicking away at a keyboard. He has been running his mind over the past 16 years since his crowning achievement, "The Coup". He has been on a nonstop search for days now and it's beginning to show on the doctor. His dark circles and worn expression tell the heavy toll this task has been taking on him. After his latest defeat at the hands of his long time enemy, thorn in his side, and living monument to all his failures; Sonic. Though embarrassed and beaten, he has been far from idle. The good doctor has been looking over every plan, every scheme, every attack to find the solution to the one problem he could never rid himself of, ending Sonic.

"Doctor, you have to at least eat something." Snivley, his nephew said while entering the room carrying a tray "you've been it this one room for at least four days, I won't be responsible for you starving yourself to death and . . ." He ducked just in time to avoid a wrench. Robotnik shot a look combining fatigue, frustration, and a rage that has yet been given a proper description.

"WHAT IS THE ONE THING I TO YOU NOT TO DO!" Robotnik roared.

"But sir ..."

"GET THE HELL OUT!" Snively quickly disappears around the door's edge leaving the tray

X.x.x 2 Days Later x.x.X

"Boss, I'm just checking to see if you're still alive." Lein-Da, Grand Master of the Dark Legion, pokes her head around the door. The young echidna was expecting to have to dodge some heavy object thrown at her, to her relief nothing happened. The room is shrouded in complete darkness, aside from the blue glow from the monitor. The once cluttered room is now in complete shambles. Books, files, and data disc lay torn and scattered throughout the room. As her eyes adjust to the dark, see spots a massive heap sitting in the center of the floor; it is Dr. Robotnik, rocking in the fetal position.

"Impossible... impossible... impossi..."

She fully enters the darkened room and speaks to the man "what are you babbling about now?" Dr. Robotnik finally looked up with unhinged fury.

"In 16 YEARS of conquest, I have used EVERY tactic imaginable and poured ALL my intellect, time, and patience into EVERY plan and I still don't have an answer on how to destroy that DAMNED hedgehog!" Suddenly, he grabs a book beside him and launches it into the screen, blackening the room. Lein-Da shakes her laughing to herself head and finally says.

"Why don't you hire someone whose only job is just to fight sonic, if he such a problem to all your plans, get someone to be his problem?"

Robotnik resist the urge to yell and with the calmest voice he could muster says "I've done that more times than I'd like to remember. How do you think your plan with do any better?"

"Well Snivley has been making preparations on finding someone ..."

"And they will arrive at 6pm tomorrow. Take the time to make yourself and this base look presentable." Snivley appears in the wrecked room and looks his uncle with a sneer. "You are looking, acting, and now smelling like petulant toddler who can't have his way."

Eggman begins to fluster a threat but Snivley leaves before he can even start. Lein-Da also leaves a stunned and furious Eggman and catches up to the young man.

"I hope you know what you're doing. Pissing of the doctor might come back to bite you in the ass if this all goes south." Snivley finally sighs and looks at the echidna.

"Honestly I don't care anymore if he throws another one of his tantrums, I just want him to either finish this little campaign or give up already. I don't have my whole life to wait for him to get it right. I have been searching all of Mobius for the right person to complete this task and I think I have found one you can fit the bill."

"You think it really will work?"

"We won't know until tomorrow at six if I made the right choice, like it or not, I'll deal with my choices then...

This chapter was done from my phone. I apologies if the spacing in the story is poor. Please rate and review to see more.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Interview, part 1

X.x.x 5:30 pm, Robotnik's Island Base Meeting Board x.x.X

As the orange bleeds into the tropical light blue sky, the meeting room lights begin to slowly illuminate massive, dark room. Ivo Robotnik sits at the end of a long black table with Snivley uneasily sitting in the seat to his side closest to the massive landscape window, at his dear uncle's request. Eggman has prepared the best he has to offer to be on display for today. He reactivated and rearmed old SWAT-bots to bolster his egg pawns and badniks forces. Eggman also started mass producing his latest invention that morning, the Eggman Extreme Ordinance troops. These EXO troopers were robots upgraded with enhanced hand to hand combat skills and the ability to be refitted for any task from increased speed output, to power augmentation, to even flight. Finally, he sent Lein-Da and the Dark Legion away for the night. These provisions were all to prove that his true power came from the iron fist of his robot army, and not his subordinates. Now with fifteen minutes away from the meeting, Eggman begins to finally relax at seeing the base at its prime. He feels a warm glow of nostalgia at the sight of his mechanical forces guarding the base that reminds him of the early days of his conquest and the feeling of invincibility he once had. Finally after many moments of silence, Robotnik speaks.

"Looks like we'll see if this meeting was worth my time."

"It will be." Snivley quickly retorts with a tone that desperately tries to balance respectful bravado while not showing the fear he has. "I made sure of it."

"Precisely." Eggman began grinning to himself "Just remember, that's why I chose that seat for you." Snivley knew all too well what that meant, especially if the meeting failed. Finally, a robotic voice on the intercom broke the tension.

"Doctor, there is a person here who claims to have a meeting with you."

"Let him in, he's just in time." As the clock is a minute from six, a human male enters the room. He is aged but far from old, his form shows not even the slightest of age. The only indicator of his age is his white-frosted grey slicked back hair and goatee. His black business suit is modern in look but has a royal appeal with golden trim and golden chimera cufflinks all while casually wielding a black cane with gold chimera trim on itself. The man calmly sits in the seat directly facing Dr. Robotnik just as the clock turns six.

Robotnik stands "Welcome to my island, I am ..." the gentleman calmly holds a finger up, silencing the good doctor.

"With all due respect," his voice is proper but firm. "The world and I already know well enough who you are, Dr. Ivo Robotnik." Eggman is at first angered but then intrigued, he slowly begins to grin.

"Well it's good to know my reputation precedes me to even the most solitarily of people." He grin becomes a slightly wicked smile. "Sadly however, I have never even heard record of you or you're so called "Elite" mercenaries my assistant claims your company has Sir." This only brings a stifled fit of light laughter from the man. He quickly regains control of himself.

"First off, my apologies Dr. Robotnik for not giving you a name, I sometimes forget that I am not as well renowned as yourself, please simply call me Doctore." He gives a slight nod of his head "Also, sorry for the laugh my good man, but your statement just made your assistant's case on why you need me." Eggman's smile was immediately gone. His anger grew and the sky turned red, and so did he.

"Please do explain, how have I made his case." pointing to Snivley, who was sweating bullets. He secretly hoped that if his plan went wrong, that Eggman would give him time to run by throwing Doctore out of the window first.

Doctore pulls a flash drive out of his suit pocket and slides it across the table to Eggman, "To put it bluntly, if you only knew half the things my people have done to your forces alone, you would have me here to be put in front of a firing squad instead of helping you." Eggman slides the flash drive into a port on the side of the table. As a monitor lights up and files fill the screen Eggman is at a loss for words. Eggman sees things he once took as bad luck or fate like missing or stolen weapons, floods that blocked him from crippled strongholds long enough to lose them and times when small village he once soundly crushed being freed by themselves were actually being done by someone else.

"It was nothing personal my good man; they were able to hire my people and got the results they paid for." Eggman throws the drive back at him and Doctore catches it "Maybe we can do the same for you."

This sends Robotnik over the edge. "THAT'S IT YOU'VE INSULTED ME FOR THE LAST TIME. IF YOUR MERCEN...

Doctore's calm tone now darkens "If you plan on insulting my men, at least refer to then by the title they have earned, Slayers."

Robotnik's grin returns. "If your "MERCENARIES" are as good as you claim. Then why don't have at least one of them here to protect you?" Eggman stands and pulls a laser pistol from under the table "Because in five minutes you'll wish you had."

Doctore smiles and pulls a pair of black shades. "Who said I didn't." He slid them on and presses a button on the side. "Now, there is no need for a loss of pleasantries. How about we make this into a contest of sport?"

Eggman slowly lowers his gun. "Go on."

Doctore looks to the slowly setting sun. "As soon as the sun sets, my slayer will have five minutes to enter this room from where ever he may be. If he is successful, I and my company will have proven our point." Eggman sits back down but aims the gun back at Doctore.

"I accept your challenge Doctore, but if you lose, you die."

"So be it, may the better man win."

As the sun's last light finally fade from view, the real interview begins.

 _Thank you for your patience and I hope you enjoy, please rate and review for more._


	3. Chapter 3

_(Author's Note: I am so sorry for the long wait but college and work took a lot of my time along with a lot of rewrites of this chapter. Chapter 4 is in the work and hopefully will be out soon. As always any reviews and advice are always welcome and please enjoy the chapter.)_

 **Chapter 3**

 **The Interview, Part 2**

X.x.x. one hour before the meeting .x.x.X

To the north of Dr. Robotniks island base lies a chain of mountains and an ocean of thick forest. Due to the mountains natural protection, there is a peaceful silence to the forest. Eggman is too preoccupied with making the two mile stretch of beach to the south a fortress to do little more the send small patrols into the forest. The forest is so serene, it is easily disturbed as a small, van sized aircraft stealthily hovers down from a hole in the canopy above. As it levels out a few feet from the ground two figures drop from the aircraft as it slowly lifts back up to the canopy and out of their view. The first figure is Doctore, who is studying a map on a phone. The other is clearly a mobian but the black mask, slate body armor with black full-length compression shirt, and black pants hide everything else. As they traverse the thick forest, the mobian begins to talk to Doctore.

"It's thirty minutes to eighteen hundred hours," the voice is male "we should be out of the forest in twenty minutes."

"Good, when we get to the beach side of the island the plan can finally be put into play. Do you have everything you need for the interview?"

The mobian pats a bag hanging on his side."Honestly, I don't see why I can't just walk in and show him my combat history?"

"Because anyone can show a history of achievements, actions are all proof the greats need and because you need to prove to him you're not all talk incase he get the idea to screw you over instead of paying you." As they approach the tree line, the mobian stops and crouches out of view as Doctore continues out to the sand. He watches as a squad of SWAT-Bots surround the man and take him to the base. The mobian shadows the group from the forest. As the group enter the base, the mobian prepares to put his plan into action...

X.x.x. 45 minutes into the meeting .x.x.X

As the meeting went on, the slayer listened dutifully from a storage room in the tunnel system below the building as the meeting deteriorated. Although the situation was becoming volatile, he was given rule not to be in the same building as the meeting (but never told to be under it). Thankfully he was set for any challenge Doctore had in his eccentric mind.

"How about we make this a contest of sport" he snapped out of his thoughts, he prepared himself for the challenge doctor was planning.

"As soon as the sun sets, my slayer will have five minutes to enter this room from wherever he may be..." he was at a complete loss for words. He knew Doctore's request were challenging, but this was a new level of over the top madness. Thankfully, he came prepared with a plan and some tools of his own…

X.x.x. The meeting room at sunset .x.x.X

"May the better man win."

BOOM! A small explosion lights up the side of one of the buildings. Seconds after the explosion, the lights throughout the entire base are abruptly extinguished and sirens begin to blare.

"Cutting the power for a sneak attack, an amateur tactic. If this was their plan to impress me, I am far from it." Suddenly, the lights were back on along with an energy shield that encased the HQ.

"Clever trick Doctor, the back up generators' primary task are directly linked with the building's lock down systems. A great way to keep intruders out ," Robotnik's shot menacing grin at Doctore, "But it also works in my favor as well." Before Eggman could figure out what he meant, the sound of gunfire filled the meeting room from far below.

"You bastard, you tricked me..."

"... Into removing your whole army from the fight. Care to concede or do you want to continue embarrassing yourself." Doctore returns a smug look to the good doctor.

"Don't celebrate yet," Eggman frantically taps on a tablet, "I still have a few tricks up my sleeve" ...

X.x.x. HQ, 10 floors below the meeting room .x.x.X

Egg-Pawns and SWAT-Bots struggle to keep the intruder at bay. But one by one they are soundly decimated by the slayer as he rushes to the emergency exit. Crashing through the emergency stairway and skipping for or five steps at a time, he begins to grin to himself on how furious Eggman probably was. _In a matter of seconds, he removed himself from most of his entire army and made my job easier._ Laser fire whizzing by his head snapped him back into the heat of action as a blockade of robots fire everything they have at the attacker. A few to many close calls forced him to burst through a nearby door and find cover. While he resting behind a pillar, he checked the two Egg-Pawn laser pistols he stole to find them completely drained.

"Well, the direct route ain't working." He tosses the pistols to the ground, "There has got to be a way to ..."

CRASH! A steel leg slams into his chest and launches him through the pillar and over a desk. Quickly standing and wiping the dust off him, he sizes up the four sleek and trim robots all approaching their acquired target.

"Looks like Eggman's been busy with some new toys," He crouches and grabs a pistol from his side and aims it at the file cabinet in front of him. "Shame I gotta break 'em up." As he pulls the trigger, a massive blast of air sends the cabinet rocketing towards the group of EXO-Bots. One is struck cleanly in the chest and rocketed through a wall. Immediately, the remaining bots launch a flurry of metal fist and feet at the slayer. Despite the EXO's endless assault from all directions, the slayer seemed to be weathering the attacks easily and even returning vicious strikes of his own.

"These bots are a great fight, but I really don't have time for this." the slayer grab the leg of one of the EXOs and launches him through the floor only to have it erupt from the same hole an kick him into the desk "I've got to find a way to end this now." An explosion stops the fight for only a few seconds as the stairway door erupted from its hinges. A hail of laser fire from the robots in the stairway pours into the room from the doorway. The slayer grabs one of the nearby EXOs and uses it as a shield from the lasers as he scrambles to the pillar as the mob of Eggman's forces turn the small office room into a kill box. In their frantic attempt to stop the intruder, the SWAT-Bots destroy not only the EXO the slayer used as a shield but also another EXO unlucky enough to be unable to get out the way. Trapped behind the slowly disappearing pillar, the slayer spots the hole he made earlier in the fight and sees it is actually a service elevator. Lunging from his cover he runs into the elevator, jumps, and punches the vent off the top. As he climbs on top of the elevator, the last EXO crashes into the elevator just in time to see him shooting the last of the cables holding it in place.

"I could say a cheap falling joke, but I'm gonna to take the high route." A deafening snap sends him rocketing to the top floor as the tiny elevator plummets into the abyss and erupt into a fireball at the bottom. Blasting the elevator doors open, the intruder sprints for the meeting room until he is stopped by the last line if robots.

"Halt intruder, surrender or die the choice is yours." He aims both of his pistols at the line of robots "Easy, I choose die. Now balls in your court if you wanna make that happen..."

X.x.x. Meeting Room: ? minutes to go .x.x.X

Robotnik and Doctore listened to the muffled sounds of the skirmish just outside the room. As the sounds abruptly stopped, Robotnik starts to grin at Doctore who is simply watching his wristwatch. A solid bang on the door turns Eggman's look into one of horror as the door bows slightly into the room.

"I believe that, my good doctor, is for you." Doctore chimed as he slid to a chair on the side of the table and continued to watch the time. Bolts and the handle fly off the door on the second impact. Eggman aims his gun at the door as it groans to keep the intruder out. Finally, the door gives way as a robot flies right at Eggman who ducks the mass of metal as it crashes behind him. After quickly scrambling back to his feet, Eggman aims at the door once more

"Nice try, but is that the best you got you miserable..." the sudden feel of metal lightly resting on the nape of his neck killed any bravado the doctor once had as the slayer stepped out of the chest cavity of the large mangled steel corpes.

"You had seven seconds to spare," said Doctore as he removed his shades and put them back in his pocket. "Normally you would complete this challenge with thirty seconds to spare, did you take the scenic route."

"Oh come on," the slayer groaned as he made his way to a seat across from Doctore "His new bots threw me off guard for a couple of seconds."

"Adversity does not exist for a slayer," his tone was strict but not angry "Let alone one who is to become a contender for King of Slayers." The gentleman slowly turned to Robotnik who was still stunned and dumbstruck by what happened.

"So Robotnik, do you have the files I requested?" Eggman begrudgingly snapped his fingers and Snivley slid a large binder to him but the mobian intercepted it and began quickly skimming through. In a minute, he sets the binder down and looks at the mad doctor.

"Seeing as how I have made my point by trashing your army ,with your help, I'll be nice and set the price..." he grabs a pen and paper and writes something down, floods the paper, and slides it to Eggman "...around this ball park." As soon as Eggman looked at the paper, he almost has a heart attack.

"I DON'T KNOW WHO YOU THINK YOU ARE BUT IF YOU THINK THAT YOUR LITTLE STUNT IS WORTH _THIS_ MUCH THAN YOU MUST BE INSANE." as he begins to stand he was interrupted by Snivley.

"With all due respect my, uncle means he simply cannot risk a price _that_ high without proof beyond all doubt that you can defeat Sonic." After a moment of silence a smile grew on Doctore's face.

"The good doctor does have a point, doesn't he" replies Doctore "You won't be fighting a tired, old man and his toys but one more than capable of handling himself and so much more." with a simple nod, the mobian stood and walked to the window while checking a watch.

"Well, if you want "proof beyond all doubt" that can be done," suddenly he pulls his gun out and aims it at window "But once I leave this room and complete my demonstration, the price doubles."

This makes Dr. Robotnik grin. "It's a deal," the mobian blasted the windows and jumped out of the window onto the aircraft as it reappears from stealth mode "But only if you succeed..."

X.x.x. 9:00pm, Open waters on route to New Mobotropolis .x.x.X

In the passenger bay of the aircraft as he is speeding into the night, the mobian is preparing for his true test. As he is running down every part of his plan, he gets a call from the phone located on the ship. After word were exchanged he starts to grin.

"So this is how the biggest challenge of my life begins, let's hope the show is worth all the effort …"


	4. Chapter 4

Author's notes: Sorry for the long hiatus, I lost the entire set of later chapters when my computer died so I took some time to redo a few. Thanks for hanging on and without further wait, the next chapter. Please read and review, any advice will help.

Chapter 4: Unpleasant Calm Before the Storm.

.X.x.x New Mobotropolis, 8:00 a.m. x.x.X.

For many, their day begins when the sun rises over the city of New Mobotropolis. But for one soul however, the night before had never ended. Sonic, the hero of Mobius is lightly resting in a tree after he spent the night running to clear his head. For the past two months, Sonic has had a lot on his mind since the disappearance of Amy Rose. The beeping of his wrist communicator cuts the reprieve short. Groaning out of exhaustion and frustration, Sonic drops out of the tree and ends his night the same way he has for the past month, dashing to Amy's house in hopes of her one day just being there. The bright and lovely pink house stands out against the green sea of forest around it so finding it is no problem. As he races to beat the sun to the house, his feigning hope is all but gone as he sees no lights in or around the house. Even as he jumps the fence on to the still well kempt lawn there is still no sign of life. Like every other time, he hopes to not find the key hidden in the loosened slab on the walkway. But like every other time, it is there meaning she is not. As he returns the key to its rightful place he jumps the fence and speeds off in another direction. No matter how fast he runs, Sonic begins to feel an unyielding guilt starting to gnaw at him the grips to the very fiber of his being.

"I can't keep doing this to myself," he stops and rubs his eyes out of frustration "I gotta go talk to someone to get my mind off this." Suddenly an idea sparks in his mind. "I wonder how Tails is doing."

.X.x.x New Mobotropolis, Tails Hangar, 10:00 am x.x.X.

His breathing and stress begins to dissolve as he arrives at Tails hangar. Since most his house was destroyed in the last attack, he has spent most of his free time since being released from the hospital turning his place of work into a second home. As Sonic follows the droning of machinery to the hangar wing, he spots Tails working on the Tornado.

Sonic playfully mused "Hey, I thought the Doc said to take it easy until the bandages are off."

Tails smiles and slides from under the plane "I only started an hour ago; I just put on auto pilot system and a few minor adjustments to help when I'm cleared to fly again." At a glance, he notices Sonic's smile begins to melt. "You know, there was nothing that could be done to change what happened that day." Before he could reply, Tails phone alarm began to blare. Upon realizing that Nicole was calling, Tails pointed his phone at a monitor on the wall causing it to light up, showing a female lynx reading from a clipboard.

Tails smiles "Morning Nicole, what's the morning call for?"

"I was calling to see if Sonic was here," she looks away from the clipboard at notices "Which he is, making my morning a lot easier."

"Hey Nicole, " said Sonic sheepishly "If Sal sent you to look for me can you tell her I'm sorry for leaving."

"She already knew when and why you left, that is not why I'm looking for you. You're needed for a meeting at Freedom HQ."

Sonic shakes his head "Eggman again, this guy doesn't know when to quit, Alright I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Actually we aren't sure who it is and Sally expects you to be there ASAP because of it. See you soon."

As the screen turned black, Sonic began to head for the door. "Sorry Tails, looks like I gotta go ..."

"You mean us," Tails interrupts "First off, I'm still a member hurt or not I'm going. Second, my way is a lot faster." with the flip of a switch a portal opened up on the wall.

Sonics jaw drops "You started an hour ago?"

Tails shrugs, "Yeah, I started on the plane after." Sonic rises a brow "What, I needed something to do for the other twenty minutes."

.X.x.x New Mobotropolis, Freedom H.Q., 10:31 am x.x.X.

To everyone's surprise, both Tails and Sonic appeared at Freedom H.Q. faster than they even expected with sonic on the way. Leaving the questions for later, Sonic and Tails joins Bunnie, Antoine, Rotor, and Sally's brother King Elias Acorn.

Sonic and Sally share confused looks at one another "Why is Elias here?"

"Depending on how this meeting goes and due to our small numbers, we may need all the help we can get." Sally responds. Then she gives a look at Tails "I thought the Doctor ordered you to stay in bed." before either Tails or Sonic could reply Sally signs and interrupts "It's not important now but we will deal with it later. Nicole do you mind replaying the message that was sent to us."

"Sure thing Sally," Nicole appears out of thin air "At 6:32 am a package was found at Sally's front door marked for Sonic. Fearing it was an explosive, I was called in to examine it. However, upon opening the box we found two items. One is a small black primitive flip phone with no numbers. The other is a sub drive with only one item on it." pointing at the screen on the wall causes the screen to light up and display a massive message board. "Although we are unable to find the sites location, we are able to confirm that the conversation on it is not a hoax." Taking a deep breath she looks to the group and then to the blue blur. "I'm sorry Sonic, you have a bounty on your head and someone has accepted it...


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: Please R&R, Thanks for reading

Chapter 5: Insanity is …

A moment of silence passes as everyone begins to process the news. Suddenly, Sonic begins to laugh.

"If that is what you were worried about, don't worry. Besides our fat bald friend, I have whole civilizations full of people who want to put my head on a platter. How is this little show any different?" Bunnie shoots him a cold look.

"How many of'ems got the balls to tell ya they gunnin for ya. Either he's stupid as hell, crazy as hell, cocky as hell or hell, all the above. I don't care who ya are, nobody just ignores somebody who's callin you out."

"Bunnies' right," Sally intervenes "If they're giving up the element of surprise, they don't care about their own wellbeing let alone anyone else. With that in mind, I think Elias should set a mandatory curfew should be put into place until things calm down."

Elias thinks for a moment then finally speaks "Sis, the last time a curfew was in effect the Iron Dominion had enacted it. People still remember those terrible days and are still uneasy about the idea of one. Sonic does have a point that this is a threat, a very elaborate one, but a threat none the less with no major evidence that this is just a weak attempt at intimidation."

Sonic smugly grins "Yeah the king is right, it's not like this punk is going to actually gonna get on that phone and ..." a ringing sound interrupts the hedgehog. "Come on guys, I thought Sal said no phones in a meeting."

As people check their phone for the one that is ringing, everyone's eyes fall on the little black phone. With all eyes on Sonic, he picks up the phone and opens it. As everyone waits for a sound, a monotone and auto toned voice is heard from the device.

"Put the phone's speaker on full, I want to be sure I am not misheard." With a nod from everyone, sonic complies. "You're on speaker, what do you have to say that's so important?" At the same time, Tails and Rotor pull out devices and attempt to track the call.

"Instead of blind-siding you with an ambush, I've decided to formally inform you that yes I do plan on collecting the bounty on your head. I just want you to know ..."

"Hold up," Sonic interrupts as he looks to the two geniuses as the signal is all but found. Suddenly, the signal moves and they are forced to try again "First off, who are you. Second, your telling me all this, why?"

"I'd hate to have you feel that this is just another loon or coward trying to psyche you out. I'm giving you fair warning so you would be ready."

A cold laugh comes from the blue hero, "Yeah, because all this doesn't make you look completely insane."

"This isn't insanity, insanity is ..."

"Doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results." Sonic interrupts, "If you're trying to look smart by quoting some basic psychology, a game beat you to it"

"I was gonna say insanity is two of the smartest people in the world wasting time trying to track my phone's location and failing for the third time in this call." Tails and Rotor both stare at the phone with a mix of shock and anger. He was completely right on the futility of their attempts. "You don't have to come looking for me, I'm going be polite and come to you."

"Name the time and the place," Sonic growled into the phone.

"I'll give you the home field advantage this time. You have until midnight to choose a location for the two of use to have our, "exhibition" fight." Sally looks to Sonic and whispers "we'll be ready for him" then the voice continues. "I only want you Sonic but I could care less if anyone else wants to join. However, I can't promise that there won't be any collateral damage from it. So it may be best for your friends to just step aside and let us have our bout."

"And if I don't believe you?"

"That's your choice, but I'm still gonna be there at midnight sharp and we're going to fight be it in the streets or at your home. Either way, I'll see you then." The phone finally goes silent.

None spoke for a while, what was there to say. A madman was coming for Sonic and despite their best efforts he not only evaded being located, he knew and toyed with them.

With the meeting adjourned, Elias summoned the council for an emergency curfew at 8pm. While many were hesitant, eventually the curfew was accepted by all at 6pm. At the same time, the remaining Freedom Fighters aided in preparation for the curfew while Sonic and Bunnie searched for Knuckles. King Elias, prodded on by Sally, calls GUN to gain the assistance of Team Dark. GUN agrees but says it may be some time after midnight before they arrive. With the city slowly locking down and as many heroes available to help, they attempt to ready themselves for the battle to come.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: The best know how to make an entrance.

X.x.x. New Mobotropolis, 6:00 p.m., six hours until encounter .x.x.X

As the looming battle approaches, the city of New Mobotropolis is filled with an atmosphere of subtle fear and confusion as a mandatory curfew city streets begin to clear out. Among the commotion, Tails and Sally are strolling to his hangar.

Tails is the first to break the silence, "Uh Sally, Do you really think that guy is able to get to Sonic from here?"

"Honestly," Tails nods, "I'm not sure, Tails. Any other time, nobody in their right mind would try except Eggman but now..."

"We're divided" Sally looks at the young fox in shock, not at his statement but at his ability to admit it. "Although they don't show it, Bunnie and Antoine are mad at Sonic for what happened with Amy, Rotor can't join us in the field due to his injuries, Knuckles can't find the Chaotix, Amy is missing, and" tears begin to well in Tails eyes "I'm too banged up to help him the one time he needs me."

"Tails don't beat yourself up about this" Tails is suddenly embraced by Sally. "You're doing more than enough and hopefully the plan works so we can put this nonsense behind us and focus on putting the team back together, okay."

Tails wipes his eyes and nods "Okay" he grabs her arm and begins to run, "Let's get to my hangar, I have a few things that can help us tonight...

X.x.x. New Mobotropolis, 2 minutes until encounter .x.x.X

The azure black sky to most would be a lovely contrast to the golden ambiance of the streetlights, but to the freedom fighters, the night was a veil hiding their potential threat. Sonic stands in the center of the courtyard in the open, while Sally, Bunnie, and Antoine stay out of sight hiding behind the various stores and statutes that dot the courtyard's edges. The silence of the once lively street adds to the uneasy nature of the mission leading every sound to cause someone to jump. From a hidden location Bunnie breaks the silence over the radio

"Ah swear Sal its two minutes 'til Midnight and I don't think he's gonna show."

"Hopefully he won't show, but until then we can't rule an assault in the city out."

Antoine's voice also chimes into her piece "This man must be a full of shit or crazy to not only attack sonic but also do it inside the city where he lives."

"Maybe I'll ask him for you," Sonic said as he stared at the ringing phone "Guys, be prepared for anything."

"So it's almost that time, I see you decided to keep the home field advantage. Hope you can pay for the damages."

Sonic grins "that's a lot of big talk for someone whose almost a minute from being late, don't tell me you got cold feet?" A massive object crashes into the ground at the end of the courtyard. "Alrighty," Sonic lowers the phone "Let's see what you got."

Bursting through the cloud of dust, a massive gorilla like robot charges at Sonic. Sonic grins as he stands firm as the hulking mech jumps into the air, raising two small car sized arms with full commitment to crush the hedgehog so far into earth that a coffin wouldn't be needed. As the arms of the robot is inches away from the hero's face, Sonic's image turns into scattering particles leaving both arms stuck in the ground. The particles reform out of range and appear as a smug Nicole.

"To be fair, you would have missed Sonic anyway with that slam." As the behemoth tries to pull its arms out of the ground, it is immediately locked to the ground as Sally and Antoine place a disc on each arm that magnetized them to a beam in the very place it had struck. As it struggles to break free; Bunnie walks to it, points her arm cannon at its face, and in the blink of an eye blows its head clean off its shoulders...

X.x.x. Outside of New Mobotropolis, 1 minute until encounter .x.x.X

Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles are watching the action on a tablet screen from the ledge of a cliff several miles away. The six hours given to prepare allowed Tail's plan to work flawlessly. The attack had ended so fast that he almost felt silly for setting up the thermal and motion alarms around the clearing. Behind him, he heard Sonic laughing into the phone. "Was that all? Eggman drunk off his ass could do better that this. You, mean I was expecting this grand plan and I'm given a single robot." Sonic looks at the time. "You still have about thirty seconds to do something else or are you done wasting mine and everyone else's time?"

"Your right," an array of lights form a blinding wall blocking escape into the woods, "let's cut to the chase and get to business!" A voice from behind the trio shocks them from their celebration. An armor clad mobian stands before them. Tails frantically looks for his alarms only to find them all deactivated. "I don't mind your two friends watching," Tails and Knuckles stand at the ready, "But I'd like to keep this fight mostly private, so I'll put the rest of your pals on ice." Within seconds, New Mobotropolis is sealed in a massive energy shield.

X.x.x. New Mobotropolis .x.x.X

The team in the city is stunned as the wall of lights catch their attention. Before they can act, the city's shields were activated and a projection of the heroes facing the assailant on the ledge was displayed on it.

Sally looks to the lynx "Nicole, lower the shields! He is at Sonics location and we have to get there now!"

Nicole tries to summon a holographic panel but it is destroyed as soon as it was made. "The shields are not responding to anything I do. I'm locked out of that system. I'll go find Rotor and we will try to override them."

Sally nods as Nicole disappears, she looks back to the projection "You say you always got things like this Sonic, I hope you are right."


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Notes: thank you for your patience. Please Read and Review if you have any advice.**

Chapter 7: Stunned

"So, with the rest of the team out of the way" the slayer glances at the three heroes. Knuckles cracks his knuckles and neck with a relaxed tone, Tails is nervous but at the ready, and Sonic shoots a confident grin "Will Sonic tell his entourage to back off or do I have to teach them a lesson about stepping down when one is outclassed."

"THE ONLY THING BEING TAUGHT," Knuckles charges at the mobian "WILL BE A LESSON IN PAIN FROM MY FIST!" A punch misses the slayer by a hair as he steps out of the way. The breeze from the powerful strike sends a massive dust cloud flying. Readying for another, he is certain the hit will land and commits to the punch. Instead of just avoiding the attack, he lunges past the punch, grabs his arm and sends a fully extended kick to the echidnas gut. "Here's a lesson, when you wanna knock someone out in one shot, you got a better chance using your legs; like this." Doubled over and winded by the hit he is unprepared for the knee to the face the he was pulled into. Sent flying to his friends, Knuckles crashes to the ground limp as a ragdoll while both Sonic and Tails stand shocked and in horror.

"Don't worry, he's not dead." The pair snaps out of their shock and step ahead of Knuckles to protect him. "But he'll be milking one hell of a headache and maybe a bloody nose." He stares at the duo and shakes his head "Are we going to have to do this again or is the sidekick going to get smart and let the real fight begins?"

Sonic steps ahead of Tails "Tails, I need you to take Knuckles and get out of here." He looks back at a confused Tails. "Sonic, we can beat him if we work togeth..." Sonic grabs his shoulder and gives him a reassuring smile "Don't worry bro, I got this punk. I need you to get Knuckles and yourself to safety. I'll give him one for the both of ya."

"Sonic, you can give him one for Knuckles, BUT I'M NOT HELPLESS. I CAN FIGHT FOR MYSELF!" In a fit of rage, Tails rushes off and swings both of his tails at the slayer. The slayer hops out of the way "Listen kid," condescension dripping from his words "before you get hurt emotionally and physically, I'd take your friend's advice if I were you."

"TOUGH!" Tails proceeds to attack with little success. As the slayer weaves and brushes off the mixes of fist and tails his patience begins to thin. "YOU'RE NOT ME AND..." a seriously over it slayer grabs both of the fox's tails and slings him to the ground. Just as tails begins to catch his breath from the toss, a boot firmly presses on his back.

"Just so you know this isn't personal, call it a hard taught lesson." Just as he begins to apply more pressure, he notices the fur on the sides of the fox's chest is lighter than the rest. A slight shift in the boot's location sends splitting pain to Tails mostly healed ribs. Although the pain is not constant from the boot, any shift in Tail's movement caused a quick press that made the kit cry out and tears begin to fall. Having seen enough, Sonic spin dashes into the assailant's chest. The hit rolled him back and gave Tails time to crawl away, clutching his side.

"Tails, get Knuckles and get out of here." Before the fox could respond Sonic cut him off "THIS IS NOT FOR DISCUSSION, GET OUT OF HERE NOW!" quietly the fox grabs Knuckles and both walk away from two combatants.

"I'm going to make you regret hurting my friends," Sonic growls through clenched teeth "I'm gonna make you pay in blood."

His voice carries a hint of amusement "I never regret anything I do." He raises his fist and readies for combat "As for paying in blood, your welcome to try." In a flash, Sonic jumps into the air and enters a barrage of homing dash that slam into the blocking arms of the armorer slayer.

 _"_ _I got him on the ropes" Sonic_ cheers in his mind _"_ _all he can do is block."_ A well-timed knee sends the blue hedgehog flying back and gut first on to the fist of an eerily quick uppercut. The uppercut turns into a vice grip on Sonic's neck that slams him into the earth with a tremendous thud. With the grip tightening and breathing becoming harder, Sonic with all the momentum he can muster drives a multitude of kicks into his side that finally force him to roll away. As the two fighters return to their feet, Sonic grins "I guess it's time to get serious, Congratulations" words tinted with sarcasm "You have my full undivided attention." The hedgehog stands at the ready.

The slayer says nothing and readies himself, only gesturing for Sonic to bring it as the two fighters begin again.

X.x.x. New Mobotropolis .x.x.X

An uneasy chill crawls up Sally's spine as she and Bunnie helplessly watch the tide of battle swings back and forth. By now, the civilians are watching the fight from their home windows and the whispers of doubt begin to fill the city with worry.

"This ain't good Sal, he was able to separate us," her steel arm clenched in frustration "And after what he did to Knuckles and Tails it was like he was playing us from the get-go" Although she knew Bunnie was right, part of her wants to still believe Sonic was somehow in control. (He's been through a lot worse, so why do I feel like this is something more.) At a terminal in the heart of the city, Rotor and Nicole struggle to escape the shield system they built with their own hands.

"I don't believe this," he smacks the terminal screen he's on. Nicole materializes from another terminal nearby with the same frustrated look on her face. "Something is cutting the terminal's connection to the mainframe." While Rotor works on the connection, Nicole notices the destroyed robot and begins to put it all together.

"Rotor something is not right, we need to open this robot up." The walrus makes quick work of the robots chest cavity to see a mess of wires burst out.

"You thinking what I am, Rotor?"

"That you don't need this many wires to run anything as simple as this." Nicole nods as Rotor carefully digs around inside. A second or so later, he begins to laugh.

"There's a scrambling device in the chest hooked to the main battery, that's why the terminals aren't responding the jammer's output is being amplified by the extra power. Let's just cut this scrambler out and ..."

"WAIT!" Nicole grabs his arm and points to a white putty-like brick with wires in it. "I don't think he would let us do it so easily."

"Then how do we get out?"

"The terminals in the city are jammed but there is the terminal at Freedom HQ."

"And I know just how to get to it..."

X.x.x. At the lookout .x.x.X

Sonic and the mobian break away from one another after a long series of traded blows. Sonic staggers away as he stands on weak legs covered in bruises and cuts.

 _I don't get this; I've spent most of the fight being on the offensive. Yet I'm the one looking beat._

"Don't tell me that's all there is in the tank." the mobian stands at the ready, breathing as calm as when the fight began. Aside from some small dents and cracks in the armor, he shows no sign of being hurt or even tired. "If this is all," he cracks his knuckles "Then I guess it's time to wrap this up." Sonic shoots him a glare, (You're right it's gonna end now. I gotta hit him with everything I got.) He crouches and begins to rev up.

"You're going for the one hit KO too." He stretches his arm and readies a fist "Personally, I'd advise against such a reckless move but the balls in your court." There is a moment of clam before Sonic spin dashes with such speed that it seems that he's trying to go through him. At the same time, the slayer crouches and lunges with all his might as the two fighters collide...

X.x.x. Freedom H.Q. .x.x.X

At Freedom HQ, Tails drops a groggy Knuckles into a medical bed. As he prepares to head to the city his communicator goes off.

"Tails come, in are you at Freedom HQ?"

"Yeah, I just dropped off Knuckles and I'll be on the way..."

"No need, your right where we need you. The terminals in the city are jammed; we need you to drop the shields from where you are."

"Jammed!" Tails looks in disbelief "Alright, consider it done." Tails runs out of the infirmary so quickly he doesn't notice the figure lurking in the shadows. The figure walks to the still of the infirmary watching the resting echidna. The figure give a sign the quietly walks out of Freedom HQ into the night.

X.x.x. New Mobotropolis .x.x.X

Rotor jogs over to the group with a grin as the shields begin to melt away. "Guys the shields are coming down. What did I...?" Like all the others, Rotor's jaw drops in shock and horror "Oh no." image on the disappearing screen shows they are too late...

X.x.x. The lookout .x.x.X

There on that cliff, the near impossible happened. Sonic, the fastest thing alive was struck square in the face by an armored glove while in mid-dash. A sickening thud is all that can be heard as the combination of the forceful punch and his own momentum left the hedgehog with a look of pure shock painted on his unconscious face.

The slayer regains his composure and grabs his arm as he walks over to Sonic's rag dolled form.

"I'm not gonna lie, that one hurt like hell. But to be fair, I did warn you." and the mobian takes his foot and rolls the lifeless hedgehog on his back. "Oh well, time to wrap this up." Everyone can only watch on in terror as the victor aims a gun at the unresponsive hero with no one around to stop him.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Authors Notes: Thank you for you patience and for the reviews, I hope you like it and as always please R &R.**_

Chapter 8: Same Pink, Different Shade

X.x.x. Eggman's base, meeting room .x.x.X

"Yes, yes, YES!" Eggman screamed with a gut turning amount of childish glee. The doctor, his amazed nephew who is just happy to be right this time, and a slightly proud Doctore have been watching the entire battle through a POV camera on his mask. In a matter of minutes, the mad scientists went from the biggest nay-sayer to feverishly cheering on the mobian and even swinging a few clumsy punches along with him as he saw his greatest enemy go through the physical manifestation of all his own psychologically exhausting defeats with each punch. As if from Eggman's darkest daydream, the beaten and bruised body of a defeated Sonic is displayed on the screen with a gun aim at his face.

"Finally, in a matter of seconds my biggest pain in my neck will finally be gone forever. SO LONG RODEN..."

In a flash Eggman is left blankly staring at a black screen for a few seconds until the words "TRIAL MISSION OVER" begin to flash on the screen. Fearing the change of channel and missing the good part, Eggman frantically flips between channels to get back before he misses the good part. As more time goes by, he turns to Doctore. "Care to explain what the hell this is!"

"That," he pulls out an exotic looking pipe and lights it "Is the end of your trial. You questioned my man's ability to complete his job, an act neither of us saw the in good taste."

"I don't see how my making sure your "slayers" weren't full of hot air offended you?"

"When you wanted a trial run to prove that he could beat Sonic, you not only challenged my slayer's talents, but also my very title as a Doctore..."

"About that," Eggman interrupts "What the hell is a Doctore?"

"I believe this is an ancient title was use by the men who trained the most powerful gladiators of old." Snivley explains.

"Correct young man, I molded the vicious killing machine you saw before you. Ultimately, while you did get you trial you wanted, in doing so you made this fight completely meaningless to both the fighter and me." Robotnik wanted to berate him, but deep in his twisted mind he knew he was completely right. Frustrated and defeated, the doctor sits down in his chair. As seconds pass a plan formulates in his mind.

"The video feed from the ship will be active," Doctore noted "Once he is on board, you can speak with him. Maybe if you beg him he won't double the price."

"Oh I won't beg," Eggman retorts "But I'll be damned sure to get my money's worth out of him..."

X.x.x. New Mobotropolis .x.x.X

With the feed cut and victory confirmed, the slayer raises his gun and holsters it. "Don't worry; wasting you while you're unprepared ain't my style. I just gotta make it look good for the audience." He looks to the limp hedgehog and signs "When I'm going to kill you, it has to be an undisputed kill. I want everyone to know who did it and that you were at your very best. So rest up and get better, for both our sakes." He raises his other arm and readied the communicator. "Alright, I think I made my point, you can swing by for an evac..." Suddenly, a massive force slams into the mobian's back and sends him flying into the air. As he lands on his feet standing at the ready for his new challenger, he is met with another blow sending him crashing to the ground.

"Okay, once if funny but twice looks bad on me and I'm starting get pissed..."

"Good, I've been there for months now." The lights all burst and reveal a pink hedgehog dressed in dark clothing.

"Amy Rose?" A genuine hint of surprise is hidden in the slayer's voice. "Well damn, color me impressed. You caught me by surprise just to protect your crush, I'm touched."

Cold laughter can be heard coming from the pink hedgehog "The only crush I have involves you, me," a pink energy surges in her arm and summons her piko piko hammer "And this beauty." The slayer looks to his watch and to the unconscious hero of Mobius and shrugs. "What the hell, I got time to kill and I've been on a roll." He gets into a playfully relaxed stance "I like to note I am an equal opportunity sociopath, if I'm holding back it's because you're not worth the extra energy. So don't disappoint ..." The pink hedgehog dashes forward faster than he expects and just misses as he jumps back to dodge the massive hammer. Rolling to his feet he lunges and swings a punch at Amy expecting her to block it with her hammer. But to his surprise, the hammer evaporates back into energy and Amy eerily dashes to the side and burst ahead with a kick the slayer barely can block and swing out of the way.

 _Okay, where in those damn notes did it say she can actually fight and can move at the same speed as Sonic? Looks like I have to step it up if I wanna..._

Just out the corner of his eye, he notices Amy's hand is reforming the hammer as she uses the momentum to power her hit. Ducking under another hammer swing he raises up to be met with an elbow and punch from the unnaturally competent combatant. Despite his best efforts, he could not land a hit as the pink hedgehog shifts between nimble dodges, powerful strikes from her hammer, and fast combos when he dodges the hammer. As the fight continues, damage begins build up on the barely sustained armor.

"It's both sweet and sad, all the hard work you put into becoming this good for you sweetheart. I bet you hope he'll actually see you as more than just a silly little fan girl." Amy stops and her hammer disappears as she seems almost hurt. "For a bit of consolation, you finally got my respect, so not a total loss." Amy's sullen expression reignites into a great fury as a split second hammer launches him into the air. She jumps into that air and keeps striking him as she yells at the armored mobian

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR RESPECT!" She raises both hands in the air and summons a massive spiked great maul "AND I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT SONIC!" The impact from the hammer can be heard all the way from the city as the mobian craters into the ground. As smoke bellows from the hole, Amy stands at the ready and scans the hole.

"I guess it is true, breaking stuff makes you feel so damn good." Suddenly a burst from the hole lands across from Amy. For the first time since the fight began he is truly exhausted and worn. His armor is in complete disrepair but still hides his figure. Amy looked him in his now visible eyes and they continue to stare each other down.

"Freeze!" A mass of red dots swarm the slayer as several GUN troops semi-encircle the cliff side. A few seconds later, Sally and Bunnie also join group all at the ready for him to make a move.

"You're completely surrounded," Sally yells at the assailant "For your safety I suggest you surrender."

"Or not," Bunnie readies her arm cannon "Ah'm hoping your stupid enough to try."

"Well damn, I really expected that shield to hold you for a few more minutes." As he takes a step back, the troops already their guns "Y'all are really sure you got me dead to rights and I would love to entertain you a little more, but I got better places to be, Ciao." As he turns his head a bullet whizzes past his head. A lowly chuckle can be heard from the mobian as he takes a coin and flips it over his head. As it lands on the ground, a loud pop forces the troops, Sally, And Bunnie to cover their ears. Suddenly the slayer breaks into a sprint for the cliff. Only a second passes before a hail of bullets and find their mark on the fleeing slayer. Amazingly, the bullets seem to have no effect on him as he only weaves to dodge Bunnie's laser blast as he leaps off the cliff. A few seconds pass until a metallic thump draws confusion from the group. Sally rushes to the cliff side to see a small aircraft melt out of active camouflage and fly off into the indigo twilight sky well out of range off any anti-aircraft weapons or pursuits. Furious, Sally can only curse under her breath as she walks back to the group who is now securing the area and checking on Sonic

With the night's ordeal over, Sally walks over to Bunnie who is checking Sonic's pulse.

"He's pretty banged up but alive. We should take him to the infirmary now, Sal."

"Okay, let's him to Freedom H.Q. and call Dr. Quack ASAP." Sally reaches out to a very distant Amy and smiles "Amy, I can't thank you enough for saving Sonic. Everyone will be happy to see you're doing well and have you back." Amy looks at her, then Sonic and shakes her head.

"To be honest Sally, I'm not here to rejoin the team. I was only here on business." Amy walks past a truly hurt Sally as if she was a ghost. She stopped, said a few things under her breath, and turned back to Sally "I have a few things to take care of, so I'll be in town for a while, Maybe I'll see you around." Suddenly her demeanor turns dark "But I don't want Sonic in my sight for as long as I am here." With Amy quickly out of view. Sally is left alone with only her thoughts.

 _Was that really Amy, I could hardly recognize her with the cold demeanor. Were things that bad for her to feel that way towards Sonic? I hope we can deal with this mess and bring the team back together before thing get worse._

Eventually she to leaves the cliffs edge to rejoin her worn, beaten, and in some cases bloodied team.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Notes: Thank you for your patience on me being late, new chapters will be out every month. As always, please read and review.**

Chapter 9: Some Wounds are Easier to Heal Than Others

X.x.x. Freedom H.Q. infirmary .x.x.X

The ambience of various medical equipment are the only thing to be heard as Sonic slowly awakens in a haze on an infirmary bed. He takes time to look around at his surroundings, from the X-Rays on the screen too far away for him to see in detail, to the series of bandages he was wrapped in, to his gaze finally resting on a sleeping Sally by his bedside. After the ordeal, Sally has been by his side and has only left it to check up on the others. Seeing her like this strikes a guilty note within him.

 _Nice going Sonic, she probably has been worrying herself sick over your dumb ass. Let alone what I put the team through because I didn't take care of business._

Sensing Sonics movements, Sally wakes up and yawns. "Hey Sonic, how are you feeling?"

Sonic pushes the thought away and shoots a confident grin "Like million bucks..." as he tries to stand, a surge of fresh pain grips him and he drops back to the bed with a hiss "Worth of medical bills."

"With the thrashing you took, I'm not surprised. I'd advise against moving too much, but that's like asking water to run uphill." A grizzled old duck enters the room looking at the notes "The wounds aren't too severe but they still will require you to get some rest ..." Bunnie, Antonie and Rotor soon enter the room. The duck rubs his forehead "I swore I put up a do not disturb sign on the door but nobody even listens."

"Ya said sumthin, doc?" Bunnie ask politely. Defeated he heads to the door.

"No my dear, I never do. please enjoy your night and don't make this an ongoing thing."

The room is agonisingly silent for a minute as every looks around with a hint of unease at what Sonic knows. Sonic finally breaks the ice, "Thanks for saving my hide back there. If y'all hadn't come..."

"Sonic," Rotor stops him "we didn't get to you in time, we were still in the town when that happened."

"Wait, if you didn't, then who..."

"It's Amy you should be thanking," Bunnie breaks her silence and her words carry a hint of anger. "If it wasn' for her, we might be putting your ass in the ground. Not only that, she took him to the his damn limits from what I saw. If ah were you, ah'd go to her and beg her to come back to the team. But from the look ah saw in her eyes, she be just as likely to finish you off for him, that come back."

It takes the fastest thing alive a second or two to process what he just heard. Suddenly, he tries to stand but is forced to lay down by his wounds.

"Is she still here, Where is she, and..." Stopping for a second to gather the last though "how did she pull that off?"

"I believe I have the answer to one of those, Blue." Stepping out off the window sill, Rouge the bat appears surprising everyone. "Amy has been training with Shadow, Omega, and myself for two months now. I didn't know why, but Shadow brought her to the team and she has been getting better ever since." This news is a genuine shock to everyone in the room. For the past two months everyone has worried about her location and searched every place they could think of. The team event went so far as to attack Eggman, fearing he had imprisoned her. To find out she was literally a call away was too much for Sally to bear.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US! WE HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR HER FOR THOSE TWO MONTHS. I HAVE LOST TOO MANY NIGHTS FEARING IF WHAT HAPPEN CAUSED HER DEATH. ALL WE NEEDED WAS A CALL OR SOMETHING TO PUT EVERYONE AT EASE. YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO TELL HER YOU SAID ANYTHING, WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL, ROUGE!" Sally yells at the bat tears welling in her eyes.

Rouge glares at the princess "She didn't say and from her reactions at the mentioning of this place, I didn't ask. You may want to talk to her, but I suggest waiting for her to open it up. whatever the hell happened here really changed her, and even I don't know if she will go back to normal." She finally signs, saying something under her breath, then looks to Sonic "I also came to speak with you, Sonic. Shadow says he needs to speak with you, it's important and seeing you like this says you need it."

X.x.x. In a Nearby Infirmary Room .x.x.X

Amy quietly walks into the medical room to find Tails listening to Knuckles as he pleads his case.

"I'm telling you he just caught me off guard. If I had taken him seriously, he wouldn't have stood a chance..." Knuckles spots Amy out the corner of his eye. "Amy?!"

"Amy, your okay!" Tails hops off the bed and hugs Amy. She tries to return the embrace but notices the bandages and stops. Noticing her reluctance he quickly reassures her. "Don't worry, I'm okay, Dr. Quack wanted to bandage my ribs again to make sure they 're alright but I kept telling him they are fine."

Amy gives a light smile "I happy to hear that," She looks to Knuckles "Are you okay?

"Yeah, that bastard gave me a cheap shot and almost broke my nose. I swear he's gonna get that back in spades the next time I see him." Knuckles gives her a thumbs up and smiles. Tails looks to her "Amy, are you coming back? I think with you back, we..."

"I'm sorry Tails, I don't know if I am here to stay. I came back to handle this attacker, but afterwards I don't quite know."

With the two people she worried about okay, Amy hugs both of them "I'm staying at my house for now, if you want to catch up." she quietly leaves the room and walks out of the H.Q. into the crisp night air…

X.x.x. Several miles in the skies above Mobius .x.x.X

As the aircraft sails across the black, star filled sky, the slayer is resting in the storage bay. A beeping draws his attentions as a screen hanging from the bay roof drops down and lights up and an in flight video feed show him the meeting room and the vice versa. the meeting room is silent until Snivley stands and speaks.

"Congratulations, my uncle is very impressed at the performance you've shown and after some time he decides to accept the deal at double the price."

"I happy to hear your uncle finally come to see things my way..." Suddenly, Eggman grabs Snivley's shoulder and says something in his ear too low and covered to be heard by Doctore or the slayer. As Snivley look back at the screen, a truly sinister grin on his face.

"He accepts your terms with one condition, seeing as your more than able to beat Sonic, he feels that someone of your talent could surely do one more thing, to make things fair. He would also gets all seven of the Chaos emeralds as well. And it has to be done in one week or he doesn't pay anything." The slayer clinches his hidden fist.

(No way in hell is he going to add this into the deal. I wasted the element of surprise and time to pull this stunt, it may take me all week to complete this mission. I don't have the time or the numbers to do both of these and he's banking on it so he doesn't have to pay.) Before the slayer can speak, he is cut off by Doctore.

"My slayer is capable of both things and agrees. However, due to the added task I believe you own him something in return. We will have the ability to coordinate with your forces when need be to complete these task." the slayer is again at a loss for words just as things seem bad enough he pushes them to the very limit. He can only fake a confident grin as he screams on the inside.

"I accept these terms, please press your finger to the tablet located in the compartment above you." As the slayer does, Robotnik presses a button and a paper slides out of the table. the paper is a contract with the fingerprint as a signature. With all manner of business done Snivley and Eggman stand to leave. "You both can stay here for the week. anything you need, just ask and I can attain. I hope you find success in your task, but I'll be fine if you don't". With time to himself, Doctore looks to the screen and smiles "For your sake, I hope you're ready for the hell you put yourself in." With the screen now blank, he moves the screen and takes time to heave a sign and pulls out a hidden locket. He opens the locket and gives a weak smile.

"He and i both know I don't have a choice, i have to be ready for both your sakes. just hang in a little longer, I'll be able to free you as soon as i pull all is insane crap off." With a renewed vigor, he pull out a small phone and begins to make several calls...


End file.
